Thirty years after an alleged unjust dismissal from active service, a 90-year-old corporal of the Nigerian Army, Danladi Yelwa, who fought during the Nigerian Civil War, has sought the intervention of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-General Waidi Shaibu, over alleged wrongful accusation, prolonged detention without trial, and dismissal without due process.

The nonagenarian has written to the Chief of Army Staff, seeking redress, reinstatement of his service records, and payment of all outstanding entitlements. He said the Army acknowledged receipt of his petition in 2022 but has yet to provide an official response, leaving the ex-soldier in poverty and ill health.

Yelwa’s lawyer, Oluwole Olukunle Moses, detailed his client’s ordeal yesterday, describing it as decades of alleged institutional injustice. He said Yelwa’s ordeal began in May 1993 while he was on duty at the armoury in Kontagora. A pistol officially signed out by an acting commanding officer reportedly went missing. Yelwa alleged that the officer refused to accept responsibility and instead shifted the blame to him.

Subsequently, police officers allegedly recovered the missing pistol from a suspect arrested for armed robbery. According to the suspect’s statement to the police, the pistol was picked up at a nightclub in Kontagora after it fell from a drunken man attempting to sit on the bonnet of his car. The suspect reportedly copied the car’s plate number with the intention of returning the pistol but was dissuaded by friends.

The petition claimed that the plate number matched Yelwa’s vehicle. Despite police findings that reportedly exonerated him, Yelwa was detained while the suspect was released. He remained in police custody for six months before being taken to the Commissioner of Police, Niger State, who allegedly informed him that he had no case to answer and that his commanding officer was responsible for his detention.

Rather than being released, Yelwa was allegedly handed over to prison authorities on the directive of the Brigade Commandant, Gen. Obiako, and imprisoned for six years (1993–1999) without charge, trial, or conviction.

The petition further claimed that Yelwa’s release in 1999 followed the intervention of the late Mrs Stella Obasanjo, wife of then President Olusegun Obasanjo, during a prison visit, after discovering that he was being held unlawfully.

Upon returning to his unit at the 311 Artillery Regiment, Yelwa was reportedly informed that he had already been dismissed from the Army. No dismissal order, court-martial proceedings, or board of inquiry was shown to him.

Further investigations allegedly conducted by an Army-appointed lieutenant later revealed that no valid dismissal order, court-martial ruling, or service record file existed. The petition claimed that a dismissal letter eventually produced was unsigned, unwitnessed and forged.

The investigating officer reportedly confronted Yelwa’s former commanding officer, by then a brigadier, who allegedly initially denied knowing Yelwa but later recognised him in person and remained silent when confronted with the allegations.

According to the petitioners, a lieutenant offered Yelwa the option of suing the Nigerian Army, but he declined, requesting only payment of his entitlements and access to his service records to process his pension and gratuity.

However, the petitioner said that a sergeant later demanded N150,000 from Yelwa to “complete” the investigation, threatening that nothing would be done if the money was not paid. Unable to raise the amount, Yelwa said that was the last engagement he had with the Army.

He urged the Chief of Army Staff to order a thorough investigation, reinstate his service records, and ensure payment of all salaries, pensions, gratuities and benefits accrued during his detention and imprisonment.

His legal team said all efforts by their client to obtain administrative justice had failed and appealed to the Army leadership to uphold justice, integrity and the sanctity of military service.

Yelwa was enlisted in the Nigerian Army on November 11, 1968, during the Nigerian Civil War, with service number 63/NA/182244. He served with the 121 Battalion, Okolobia, Awka, under Captain Yusuf, assisted by Captain Audu Potiskum, and participated in military operations that led to the capture of Ogidi.

After the war, his unit was redeployed to Suleja in 1973, later reorganised as 30 Heavy Artillery, and subsequently renamed the 311 Artillery Regiment, Kontagora, Niger State. (The Guardian)

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